Welcome to Gaia! ::

dude, i must have more stories. they kick buttox razz

i'm just wondering, but do people like reading neji/hinata fanfics?

*gives him a thumbs up* no problem! have fun on your trip and post soon okie dokie!

the fact that that inspired you is pretty cool though! ^ ^

i was so happy when i saw that the next chapter was up! i cant wait for the next one! that one was great!

eek THAT WAS SO AWESOME !!!!! I just started reading this this like ....2 days ago and i'v e been completely enthrawled in it for ... -checks watch- wow at least 14 hours now , not in a row of coarse xd thats crazy! nice job mrgreen ninja

{watch me point to the sky you laugh and say I'll never fly}

Is... that a bad thing? sweatdrop

Title: For the Love of My Friends
Chapter 32: Farewell, But Not Good Bye
Rating: Mature

He tried not to be hopeful, tried not to dream how nice it would be to be surrounded by friends. He tried not to just assume that he would be going with the Konoha group back to their village, just in case Zabuza said no. But his control slipped through his fingers, for once in his life. Haku found himself thinking of the fun they'd have in between missions, seeing the ramen bar that Naruto was always talking about, seeing the endless sea of trees, seeing the Hokage monument. He found himself thinking about what this Konoha looked like, and at night, the dreams haunted him.
Haku forgot his steel will, forgot his vow to not care so he won't end up being disappointed, when he looked in his new friends' faces.

Sasuke was impassive, aloof, seemingly cold, but when he warmed up, Haku could genuinely see how the Uchiha was one of his friends. Sakura was much easier to be around, though Haku never had really gotten over his embarrassment when he was around it. He couldn't help it! It was a rare occasion to see a female that wasn't over thirty in his line of work, and she was so pretty, in an unusual way. Naruto, he could understand. They, he and Haku, were practicably twins in certain ways. Naruto, host of the Kyuubi, feared demon lord of Fire Country. Haku, part of a blood line that was feared, hated, and was the reason why there was so many wars where he used to live. They were both so much alike. Kakashi was cool. A perverted, pranks loving, and generally nice version of Zabuza. Gai was okay, though he was kind of loud. Lee as well. Neji was much like Sasuke, though the bubble of ice extended much farther out than the Uchiha's. Tenten was nice. She fixed some of his broken senbon for him and they had a rather interesting talk about whether or not senbon were better to use than kunai.

All in all, they were a strange bunch of people, but Haku added them all onto his previously limited list of precious people.

But, friends or not, Zabuza was much more important to him than they were. The older nin was his guardian, his father, his brother, his teacher.. every mentor like role in Haku's life was filled with Zabuza. Of course, Haku really didn't want to be like Zabuza, but that didn't change the fact that if he had survived with one person in his life, he could survive with that one person a little while longer.

Speaking of the devil, the older nin appeared before him. Haku had no idea how long Zabuza had been standing there, just watching him sulk over the things that floated around in his mind. Haku looked up, meeting the mist devil's brown eyes with his own.

It was cold, Haku realized with a start. The skies were dark and the lovely sakura tree that he had sat under what must have been hours ago was no longer lit up by the sun's rays, but by the moon's.

"You've been out here for a while." Zabuza said in a low tone. Haku shrugged, pushing himself up.

"So have you." Zabuza smiled, nodding. "Have you.. come to a decision?" Haku's question was hesitant, wanting to know the answer, but at the same time not.

"I.. think so." the mist nin said, rubbing the back of his head. "If.. you had a choice to go to Konoha or to go somewhere else, where would you go?" Haku blinked, then tensed, having an idea where this was going.

"I would want to go with you." the boy said firmly. There was no way that Haku was going to be separated from Zabuza. The older nin shook his head.

"But if you didn't have me to think about, where would you go?" Haku was looking increasingly distressed.

"I would.." Haku looked down at his shoes. Please don't tell me this is Zabuza's back handed way of deciding things! Haku doubted that Zabuza would willingly go to Konoha, but what he knew of the older man told him that Zabuza would let him follow the Konoha group if that was what Haku wished. Still, he answered truthfully. "I would want to be with friends."

Zabuza's face was neutral as he nodded. The mist nin walked away. "Go inside where it's warm." he tossed over his shoulder. Haku bit his lip, watching Zabuza's retreating back.

"Zabuza-san!" Haku called out. The other nin paused, turning halfway around. "You.. are one of those friends." Zabuza looked at Haku, then nodded.

"I know."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Birds chirped their greeting to one another that next morning. The sun had barely peeked over the horizon, but the homely house of the Tazuna family was already up and stirring with people, smelling richly of cooking breakfast.
A loud thud made the cooker look up from her latest creations. She turned the fire down, then walked out of the kitchen to see where the sound originated.

One of the green ninjas, Tsunami couldn't tell them apart most of the time, had tripped over a loose rug and dropped all of the bags and various other accessories that he had snagged from people's bed sides. He looked up at her sheepishly, his youthful face bringing a name up to the front of Tsunami's mind.

She knelt down. "Lee, what are you doing?" the green clad boy gestured to the scattered bags.

"Sakura-san told me to take all of the stuff downstairs and pack them." he said, his eyes in the shape of hearts at the thought of his lovely lady in the morning, no coffee under her belt and a nasty attitude. No amount of bumps on the head could make him change his mind about her loveliness!

"I thought she was supposed to be doing that." Tsunami said, frowning. Lee shook his head.

"Nope, she's trying to find Naruto-kun. He went missing." he said, gathering the stuff to him. He began shoving random things in random back packs, forgetting that pink bras just don't go in black back packs with the name 'Hyuuga Neji' scrawled on the bottom.

Tsunami stood, absently patting the boy's head and going back to making breakfast. She doubted that Naruto was missing. More like the blond was avoiding Sakura. Everyone in the household knew(save Lee) to not bother her in the morning. The only one that was saved from her wrath was Sasuke, and that was just barely.

Outside, Naruto had found a comfy branch in a tree some twenty feet away from the ground and closed his eyes to catch some needed 'z's. They flicked open when the branch shook slightly with the landing of another ninja.

"Morning, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a smile, ignoring the waves of menace rolling off of the girl. She took a step toward him, cracking her knuckles.

"Just.. what the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked quietly, her eye twitching.

"Only practicing my latest jutsu, my friend." Naruto said, his eyes lighting up. The waves of menace died down a little as curiosity took hold.

"And what's that?" she asked in a much more normal tone. Naruto yawned and closed his eyes, murmuring the words of his undoing.

"Relaxation no Jutsu."

Inari jumped a foot in the air when he heard a loud 'Kyah!' come from above him. He saw some pink hair and immediately scrambled behind a bush. Naruto didn't have his self preservation instincts, apparently.

Sakura kicked him off of the branch. Inari winced, expecting to hear a thud when Naruto hit the ground. He tentively opened his eyes when he heard none. Naruto had landed on his hands and feet, like a cat.

Naruto looked up, casually lifting himself to his feet. "You know, I really should have never taught you how to climb trees." he said with a pout. Sakura jumped off of the branch, a brief flash of chakra protecting her feet from the brunt of the landing. She grabbed his ear and yanked him into the house, ignoring his cries of pain. Inari wiped the beads of sweat off his forehead, glad that the kunoichi didn't notice him.

They had a rule in the Tazuna household: Never bother Haruno Sakura before ten a.m.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The hour of departure. Naruto thought gloomily. Their group, Team Seven and Team Gai, stood together, making a path through the many well wishers that had come to see them off. Naruto stood more to the outside of the huddled group, behind Sakura and Neji, and next to Sasuke. Gai and Kakashi, the former with a blinding grin, led the group.
How Naruto wished he could just make a camp on the bridge and stay there until Orochimaru reared his ugly head, then defend the country he should have been defending in his future. The Wave Country had fallen all too easily under the Sound's might. How many children, that now crowded around them, cheerfully yelling out their good byes, had seen their friends fall dead in his future? How many of them were enslaved? How many of them were murdered? How many of them, in their dying breath, whispered for help?

He did not know what Tsunami's fate was, but he knew that Tazuna had died, with a score of men by his side, in a last ditch effort to protect their country. The so called 'Great Naruto Bridge' had been reduced to rubble, Wave Country's hopes and dreams with it. He should have been there, instead of sneaking around Sound village in hopes of getting more information about Orochimaru.

Hana pulled him out of the group for a moment, hugging him briefly. Her children danced around him, shouting that he'd better come back to play with them. Naruto could only nod weakly as Hana whispered a 'good luck' in his ear.

Oh, how he hated Orochimaru! That back stabbing snake, taking away so many young lives! So many innocent lives! As strange as it sounded, Naruto wanted justice for the crimes that the sound leader hadn't even committed yet.

He went back into the group, the ninjas making a way through the crowd. Naruto ran in front of them when he saw a familiar hat. He paused for a moment, several feet away from the boy who had his back to him, then moved forward, grabbing the hem of the back of the boy's shirt and pulling it over his head.

"Hey!" Inari shouted, temporarily blinded. He straightened his shirt, glaring at Naruto. Naruto smiled, a little bit sadly. Inari's annoyance died down at the sad look on his friend's face. Naruto extended his hand out to Inari.

"This is farewell, but not for forever." he said, brightening up. "When I see you next, you better not cry!" Inari glowered. So the ninja had notice the tears he had been trying to hide. He took the taller boy's hand firmly.

"You'll be crying, but I won't!" Inari countered. Naruto grinned, letting go of his hand.

"I'll hold you to that." Naruto's eyes flicked towards his fellow ninjas who were leaving, then back at Inari. With a long suffering sigh, Naruto walked away from the people of the Wave Country, his heart heavy.

Tazuna waved them off cheerfully. To have the very ninjas that saved their country to be the first ones to walk on his bridge was a honor and was sure to bring them good luck. Someone tugged on his elbow.

"What are we going to call the bridge?" the young man asked. Tazuna brightened up.

"Well, we could call it "The Bridge Where A'-"

"No." Tsunami said, putting her foot down. "Too long. But we should give it a name that has something to do with what's happened in the last couple of days."

Hana put her two cents in. "Maybe something like 'Gatou's End' or 'Bridge of Negotiations'."

"Or, the 'Great Naruto Bridge'!" Tazuna said with a grin. A murmur went through the crowd as they considered the possibility.

"You want to inflate that boy's ego?" Hana chuckled, "No, let's call it the 'Great Uzumaki Bridge', and then when he comes back, we'll pretend that it was some other Uzumaki that we named it after, to avoid inflated heads." Tsunami and the others laughed. Tazuna nodded, turning to the rest of his fellow countrymen.

"In a hundred years, many tales of our country will pass through our descendents' lips, but none will be as well known as the tale surrounding the Great Uzumaki Bridge!"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About a mile away from the bridge, the Konoha group came to a stop. Not because of fatigue, or freak flash floods, but because two very familiar people stood in their way.
"Haku-kun!" Sakura called out, "Zabuza-san! What are you two doing?" Haku waved, although the expression on his face suggested that he had no idea what was going on either. Zabuza stood a little bit behind Haku, looking faintly embarrassed.

"Um.. yeah." Haku said, fidgeting. "What are we doing here?" he whispered to Zabuza. The mist nin looked more embarrassed. He coughed, shuffled his feet, then looked at Kakashi with an almost glare, one that said 'I'm not doing this for me!'

"Does that offer have an expiration date?" he asked gruffly. Kakashi's eyes widened as he finally understood.

"Nope." he said, sparing Zabuza the shame by not revealing the offer to an increasingly confused Team Gai. He started to walk past them, gesturing for the rest of the them to follow. "Come on, it's a day and a half journey to Konoha."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hinata shifted the scrolls she had been looking over to the side of the desk, turning her attention to the one book on her table. Her uncle's book was a great asset. In it, there was a listing of many medical jutsus and, in language that she could understand, how to do them.
Of course, there was much more to being a medic than just healing. She had to learn anatomy, pressure points, how different types of chakra react to one another, and many other things that had her mind in a whirl. Her chakra control was nearly flawless now. She also had to increase her chakra, and the only way to do that was with practice. So Hinata learned chakra draining techniques and constantly performed them day after day. The only way that she knew that she was improving was because she wasn't as tired as she was the day before.

But Hinata was happy. The thrill of learning something new, of knowing that she was learning at her own pace, without being constantly compared to someone else. It wasn't something she was used to, but she liked it.

Shino had made her promise to stop practicing on herself, but that only slowed her down a little bit. Even though she couldn't practice it, she could still practice the theory of it. And a little bit is better than none at all. Which reminded her that if her father ever found out that she was practicing medical jutsu, never mind that she was good at it, he would disown her, or worse!

Hinata pushed those negative thoughts from her head. She got up, deciding to go get something to drink. The servants were always pleasant to her, they wouldn't mind if she snuck into the kitchen for a moment.

Just as she thought, they welcomed her in without a second thought. The servants were always polite to her, asking how she was, and if she ever needed anything. They all felt sorry for her, recognizing a shy little girl in a family that wouldn't accept failures. She spoke quietly to one of the younger ones before wishing them all a good night. It wasn't that late, the sun having only barely dipped under the horizon, but they all went to bed early.

Refreshed, Hinata walked back to her room. On the way, she ran into one of the last people she wanted to see. Still, that didn't stop her from being polite.

"Good evening, sister." Hinata murmured, walking right by Hanabi. The young girl stared at her coldly, grabbing her arm as she passed by. Hinata looked back, her eyes meeting identical silvery orbs.

"I want a rematch." Hanabi stated clearly. Hinata blinked. Was their fights the only thing that her sister could think of? "Father says that I cannot be the heiress until I have bested you on your thirteenth birthday in the official fight." Hinata's eyes clouded over. So that was why. She gently tugged her arm from her younger sister's grip.

"Then why is it you wish for a battle now? I am still only twelve." Hinata said calmly. She mentally applauded herself. There, no stuttering. Naruto-kun probably doesn't like girls who stutter.

"You'll never beat me. You have neither the will, nor the power to do so." Hanabi said coldly, a little unnerved by Hinata's uncharacteristic show of control. "Why not call it the official battle now, so I'll humiliate you now instead of later?" Hinata tuned out the rest of Hanabi's speech, focusing instead on her mannerisms. Hanabi was trembling with rage, and behind that cold stare, there was shame. Shame of being inferior. To her? Surely that wasn't so. To someone else, maybe. Then it dawned on her. Strangely, Hinata understood.

"Who beat you, sister?" she asked gently. Hanabi's eyes widened, her first expression. The girl backed away from Hinata, shaking her head. She hated that pitying look on her sister's face.

"I.. was not defeated! Hyuugas are the strongest in the leaf! I am a Hyuuga!" she shouted. "That.. commoner tricked me!" It was a disgrace, having a member of the noblest clan in Konoha, lose to a boy who probably had more fleas than his dog. Damn that Inuzuka!

"Everyone loses a battle once in a while." Hinata said, knowing it first hand. So this was what Kiba was so gleefully talking about earlier with Shino. Something about his cousin beating his first opponent and that it was a Hyuuga. She tried to comfort her sister. "There are just some things that you cannot help-"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear it from you!" Hanabi snapped. Hinata recoiled. "If it was up to me, you wouldn't even live here, you.. you dead last!"

Hinata was silent, looking into her sister's almost glowing eyes. After a moment, she nodded, even though she was hurt, still trying to be understanding. "As you wish." Hinata walked the rest of the way to her room. She grabbed her scrolls, several changes of clothing, and various other accessories and slipped them into a big bag. Hinata paused, her hand clenching over a rusty key hanging from a chain, trying to regain her courage. After a long and heart felt sigh, she closed her door behind her, walking past Hanabi with her head held high. Hanabi watched her leave, frozen in place.

One of the servants had heard the younger girl yelling and had come running. "What's wrong, Hinata-sama?" she asked the genin, her eyes widening at the sight of the girl carrying a bag.

"The heiress wishes for me to leave." Hinata replied, almost roboticly. Hanabi was, after all, the stronger of the two. It was inevitable that the younger Hyuuga would claim her right to the head of the clan. "Who am I to resist?"


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Alright, we'll stop here." Gai said, pausing in the middle of the clearing. Team Seven immediately dropped to the ground, clouds of dust whirling in the air. The green clad jonin set a hard pace, one that they were not used to. The mist duo and Team Gai landed lighter, used to the more strenuous pace.
"Forget the sleep bags and pillows.." Naruto mumbled, wrapping his arms around a rock. "I'll just sleep here." Kakashi picked him up, ignoring his student's sleepy grumbles.

"You'll regret it in the morning." he said, dropping Naruto onto some grass. Haku leaned over, gently untangling the blond from his back pack, and pulled out his sleeping bag.

Grumbling, Naruto crawled in head first. Haku sweat dropped when all that was visible was his feet.

"Hmph. I'd hate to see what he'd do if you were ever ambushed at night." Zabuza said. "No, wait.. I'd pay good money to see that idiot trying to fight his way out of his sleeping bag while only half awake."

Kakashi laughed. "Yeah, me too."

Team Gai was silent. They pulled out their sleeping bags, rolled them out, and went to sleep. Sasuke and Sakura had a bit of a harder time getting their stuff out, but they managed, setting their stuff down by Naruto and promptly going to sleep. Kakashi sweat dropped. Okay.. no dinner then.

"We'll take first shift." Gai said, sitting on one of the higher branches of a tree. "Then you and your team, Kakashi." Kakashi nodded, agreeing to that plan.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone was poking him and it was really pissing him off. His eyes stubbornly stayed closed, his nose twitching when the rich scent of forest reached it, the overlaying scent of humans only marring the scent slightly. He growled at the person when they poked a slowly healing wound, but they didn't stop. Without thinking, he extended his claws and swiped at the offending person.
"Ouch." Naruto's eyes snapped open at the sound of Kakashi's low mumble. When the scent of blood reached his nose, he wiggled out of the cocoon he was in, terrified of what he might see. He finally go himself out, and saw exactly what he didn't want to see.

Kakashi was sitting down on the ground, his pant leg pulled up to his knee. He was inspecting four long and bloody gashes on his leg. The jonin didn't look at him. "Guess you aren't a morning person either." he said mildly.

Naruto shakily walked over to Kakashi, kneeling down in front of him. "I'm.. sorry." he whispered. He looked down at his hand. The fingertips were still bloody. Kakashi looked up, surprised to see that the blond looked so stricken.

"It's no big deal. Sakura would have done worse." Kakashi said in his even tone. "I should know better." Slowly, Naruto lifted his hand.

"Do you really think these blunt fingertips could slice your leg open?" Naruto whispered, his voice thick. The genin looked like he was going to cry. "I'm a menace. Had I been more awake, had I put more energy into it.." The boy's head hung low. Kakashi looked around. Everyone else was still asleep, as it was still in the middle of the night. He had been trying to wake up the blond so they could change shifts.

He knew exactly what had happened. So close after using youki, Naruto was obviously still carrying around some animal instincts. Annoyance must have awakened the need to protect himself, thus his nails had grown into claws. He sighed, trying to think of a way to assure Naruto. It was only natural.. well, as natural as Naruto could be.

Kakashi looked down when Naruto gently touched his leg. Chakra seeped into his leg, into his wounds. Kakashi looked at the once bloody wounds, only to see his leg, unblemished and unwounded. He.. healed me. Somehow, the fact that Naruto had knowledge of medical jutsu even though he rarely was in need of it didn't surprise him as much as he thought it would. After all, if he knew some of the Fourth's tricks, tricks that only one other person knew, it wasn't so impossible that he knew others.

"You know Naruto.. even if I had to limp around for the next day or two, I wouldn't blame you for what happened." Naruto looked up, hopeful but guarded blue eyes meeting his own. "You're my student. Everyone loses control sometimes."

"Yeah but, not everyone has a-" Kakashi shushed him, not sure if the other genins were awake.

"Maybe not, but that doesn't make you any different. Sure as hell doesn't make you any specialer." he said teasingly. Naruto slowly started to smile. "Now, it's your turn to watch. In an hour, wake up Sasuke or Sakura and tell them to wake the other."

"Right!" Naruto jumped up, saluting Kakashi. "Sure thing, sensei!" With a smile, Kakashi turned to his own sleeping bag, pausing to say one last thing.

"We have a lot to talk about when we get home, Naruto. Don't think that I have forgotten anything. There's a lot of things that I don't understand about you." Naruto met his eyes seriously.

"I hope I can give you the answers you need, sensei." he said truthfully. "Good night."

Shuffling sounds of Kakashi settling in met their eavesdropper's ears. Finally, he relaxed and stop feigning sleep. Sasuke's eyes opened, focusing on the dark silhouette of Naruto leaning over near the fire. What was all of that about?



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even though she had made up her mind to spend the night in Naruto's apartment, she didn't go to it until the sun had already dipped far beyond the horizon and the skies were black with night. She made excuse after excuse to put off going there until there were no more excuses she could make.
Hinata let herself in the apartment, feeling as if she was intruding on a sacred sanctuary. She dropped her bag by the wall and flipped on the lights, closing the door behind her. She sighed, letting the familiar sights of the small apartment soothe her. It was almost as good as having Naruto around. She could easily imagine him anywhere in the apartment. Sitting on the counter, eating ramen. Kicking the rusty dryer to make it work. Trying to pull out a kunai that was lodged into one of the walls. She smiled at the mental image of a chibi Naruto trying to pull out the stubborn kunai that must have rusted and melded with the wall.

Hinata frowned, remembering Hanabi's harsh words. Dead last.. isn't that what they called Naruto-kun? she smiled sadly. If that is so, then I am proud to share that status with him! Even so, that didn't stop her tears from falling. Stubbornly trying to push them back, Hinata collapsed on the couch, letting the darkness take her away to the realm of the dreams.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"It looks boring. And dreary. And ugly."
"Shut up, Zabuza."

It had become a routine for them. Zabuza really hadn't wanted to go with them, or so he said, so he amused himself by being constantly negative. Well into the trip home, it started to be that Naruto wasn't the only one to tell Zabuza off.

But this time, Naruto stayed silent, warm blue eyes taking in the sight in front of him. His home. His Konoha. He was glad to be home. Haku stepped up next to him, wide brown eyes taking in the sights. Gleefully, Naruto began pointing out the more important parts of the village.

"Well, we must bring Zabuza and Haku in front of the Hokage, so the rest of you have the day off." Kakashi said to the genins. He and Gai led Zabuza and Haku to the Hokage office, leaving the genins behind. Haku tossed a quick good bye over his shoulder before following the others.

Naruto whooped. "Yes!" he grabbed Sasuke and Sakura's arms. "Lets go get some ramen!" His team rolled their eyes. Neji 'hmph'ed and walked away, probably going to train. Not wanting to be shown up by his rival, Lee followed him, shouting promises of a match between the Hyuuga and the green beast. Tenten was snagged by Sakura. The two had become pretty good friends over the last few days.

"By the way, I should show you guys where my dad's weapons shop is." Tenten said, letting herself be dragged along. "It's much better than the one that you usually go to, and if I tell him that your my friends, he'll give you all a discount."

Naruto laughed. "I don't know which is better, being back home, ramen, or pointy things!" Sakura elbowed him in the ribs.

"Watch it, or this kunoichi is going to stick a 'pointy thing' up where the sun don't shine." Sasuke stopped the mini battle of wits that was about to begin between the pink haired genin and the wanna be Hokage.

"Let's go to Tenten's weapons shop first." he said. Tenten grinned, taking the lead.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto had been surprised. Pleasantly surprised. He really didn't think that Tenten's dad would have extended his open nature to the demon host of the fearsome beast, Kyuubi. But still, her dad was an extremely nice fellow.
The shop was rather small and dark, but had a friendly air to it. Everything was made out of wood, except for the glass that protected some of the merchandise, giving it an old time feel to it. The weapons were all by or on the walls, while all of the other accessories were in the middle aisles. In the front, by the cash register, there was a huge glass case containing hundreds of scrolls. Some were blank, some were lesser summoning techniques, while the majority were technique scrolls, all lined up according to the element. There were more fire and wood scrolls than any other scrolls, especially medic scrolls(which were fairly limited in all countries), but that was to be expected since they were in Fire Country. Had there been a shop like this in Wind Country, earth and wind scrolls would be more abundant.

Sasuke was across the shop, looking at different types of kunai while Sakura was a little ways away, looking at daggers. Surprisingly, there was a difference between the two, or so Tenten's father revealed to him when he came around. Tenten was in the back of the shop, having a loud conversation with either a sister, or her mother.

Naruto was glued to a glass case protecting some of the weapons maker's more prized katanas. His eyes were focused on a short katana, not much longer than the distance from his elbow to his wrist. There was no hand guard, and the blade and hilt were much more bulky than that of swords that ninjas used(thus not good for hiding), but in Naruto's eyes, it was perfect. He wasn't the type to hide things anyway.

He used to carry a katana like that, though he had always been more of a hand to hand combat sort of ninja. But there was just something comforting about carrying a blade around. Soft footsteps made him pull out of his stupor for a moment.

"What makes you think you could wield a katana, dobe?" Sasuke said, with a faint smirk. He caught a glimpse of the blade that Naruto had been staring at so pensively.

"And you can?" Naruto countered half heartedly, spoiling Sasuke's hopes of getting the blond riled up. The genin straightened, glancing at the things that Sasuke had in his hand. "Ah, that big shuriken thingy. That's right, you lost yours in Wave Country." Sasuke nodded, flicking one open.

"These are a lot better made. I think I'll continue to buy from this store and not the other place." he said, examining the four blades. Naruto ran a finger down the sharp end, grinning when it bled. Sasuke shifted away from Naruto and closed the shuriken. "Sharp too. Don't hurt yourself, idiot." Naruto twitched, his temper flaring. Sasuke smirked in victory.

"Why I oughta.."

Sakura came up from behind them. "What are you two fighting about now?" she asked, exasperated. Naruto and Sasuke shrugged, not thinking that it was important. Just normal 'I'll get on your nerves because I'm bored' nonsense.

"Nothing much." Naruto murmured, looking distracted. Sasuke met Sakura's eyes, shifting his head to gesture at Naruto.

"Um, yeah, that's right." Sakura said, suddenly flustered. Why did she have to be the one to ask? "There's something we've been meaning to ask you about.."

Naruto turned uninterested eyes to her briefly before focusing back on the blade. "Like what?" He had a bad feeling about this. Fight or flight instincts suddenly hit him like a bag of bricks, yet he sensed no danger.

Sakura fidgeted, an odd sight to see the normally confident girl twitching and looking nervous like she knew that what she was going to ask was something that she was sure Naruto wasn't going to like. In Naruto's mind, alarm bells rang out. This was definitely not a good sign. "Well.. You see.. The thing we were going to ask you about-"

Naruto suddenly burst into motion. "Damn! I think I left my stove on!" he ran out the door, not looking back. Sakura gaped at his retreating back. Sasuke only snorted.

"That idiot has us pegged as someone as dumb as him." he said, putting his purchases on the counter. Tenten's father, frowning to himself in deep thought, calculated what Sasuke owed and told the dark haired ninja. Sasuke carelessly tossed the money on the counter. "He hasn't been home yet. There's no way he could have gone in and left the stove on. Not unless he forgot at the beginning of our journey. But by now, there would be no home left to go to."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Naruto stopped running about a block away from the store. He slid into an alley, taking the back way, the longest way, back to his home. The often cheerful glimmer of his eyes and his one of a kind smile fell, falling into the darkness of the shadows.
He knew that look on their faces. That heavily curious, yet slightly scared gaze that always proceeded a question about his.. unnatural abilities. About the Kyuubi. About why every adult in the whole damn village hated his guts.

Why did your eyes turn red, Naruto? Where did you get your insane power from, dead last? Why did you attack Kakashi? Why does everyone hate you? Why were you even born?

You know, as amusing as it is to hear you get all angsty and teary eyed... please shut the hell up. Kyuubi's rumbling growl, as it always had, calmed Naruto's nerves. The blond rose to the occasion, gearing up for another verbal battle with his inner demon.

You really must have softened up. Was that a 'please' I overheard? What happened to the demands, the 'now's, and the threats? Hearing Kyuubi growl in a menacing way, Naruto grinned and prodded some more.But you are right. I should shut up. After all, you and your big ugly mug need some beauty sleep.

Chuckling lightly to himself, Naruto started to walk a little faster. It wasn't healthy to stay in the shadows all of the time, or so was his firm belief. People were like flowers, they needed a little sun now and again.

Or they end up looking like Sasuke-b*****d. And what a tragedy that would be. Naruto, fully cheered up and ready for mischief making, walked the small back road near the hot springs. With a sense of nostalgia, he saw a very familiar rear sticking out of the bushes, too absorbed in his 'information gathering' to notice Naruto.

He froze, remembering the last time he ever saw the man he proudly called his sensei. Weak and fragile, broken looking and sick, lying on a hospital bed. He had never looked more old in his life. Sure, his death was much more peaceful than those out in the field, but it was long and painful. He refused to take treatment, knowing that it would only waste their village's resources. Noble pervert.

Naruto grinned. Well, for old time's sake...

"Stop peeping in the women's hot spring, pervert!" Naruto yelled, his voice echoing across the hot springs. There was a pause, then the sound of many people moving and squealing.

"No, don't go!" the peeping tom pleaded. A shoe nailed him right in the face. He stumbled back, dizzy for a moment. Naruto laughed hard at the comical look on his face, tears nearly springing to his eyes.

The feeling in his heart, the warm and fuzzy one, it was welcomed with open arms. Hello friend. Where have you been? For the first time since he traveled back to his younger years, Naruto truly felt as if all was normal and good in the world.

"What do you have to do that for?" Jiraiya whined. Naruto rolled his eyes, falling back on one of his old excuses.

"When a kid peeps on a woman in her birthday suit, it's a prank. When an man does it, it's a crime. When an old man does it, namely you, it's just plain wrong." he folded his arms in front of him, scowling down at the old man in his squinty eyed way. Jiraiya immediately jumped up, showing nimbleness in his limbs that most people his age would kill for.

"Do you know who I am, little ignorant boy?" he said imperviously. Naruto quirked an amused smile. It was the same song and dance, all over again. Jiraiya was trying to impress upon him about how great he thought he was. "I am Jiraiya, the Frog Hermit!"

"Hermit. Heh. That's the polite way of saying that you don't have a love life." Naruto scoffed. Someone snickered quietly. Naruto turned his head to the sound, but Jiraiya's wildly flailing arms brought his attention back to the older man.

"Do not mock me! I am one of the three legendary sanin!" he cried out, looking distressed. Naruto arched an eyebrow, giving Jiraiya a 'so what?' glance.

"Just 'cause you made a name for yourself doesn't make you any less of a pervert, old man." he said, pretending that he was bored with Jiraiya. Naruto knew how to press the frog hermit's buttons. Jiraiya turned red, steam literally pouring out of his ears.

"He's got you pegged." Tsunade said, calmly leaning over the fence of the hot spring. To Jiraiya's great disappointment, she was fully dressed. She dropped a brick on the old man's head. It broke in half when it impacted, making Jiraiya sway for a brief moment.

For a second, Naruto just stared at her, hungry eyes searching for some sign that she had grown younger since his travel. But her illusion was too good. It was the same as it was ten years in the past and ten years in the future. Then he grinned, deciding to get on her nerves as well. It was, after all, in his nature. He looked at Jiraiya.

"Who's the old lady?"